This project will investigate the development of the idea and practice of retirement among Congregational and Presbyterian clergymen in New Hampshire from 1630 to 1875. Using data on 1143 clergymen, their churches, and their communities and multiple classification analysis, this project will ascertain when and under what conditions did the practice of voluntary and involuntary retirement develop among clergymen in early America. The project will also explore the motivations of the initiators of the practice of retiring ministers as well as the reactions of the ministers to this new policy. By studying the causes, the developing, and the effects of retirement in the past, we will be able to comprehend more fully the significance of recent efforts to return to our earlier practice of allowing and encouraging the elderly to continue at their jobs as long as they wanted to work.